Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Huerter will undergo season-ending left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN on Friday.
Huerter is expected to make a full recovery at the start of the 2024-25 season, Bartelstein told ESPN.
The loss of Huerter is a huge blow to a Kings team that is struggling to stay out of the play-in tournament and return to the Western Conference playoffs for the second straight season. Sacramento (42-30) currently sits in eighth place in the West, one game behind the sixth-place Dallas Mavericks heading into Friday's game.
Huerter, 25, has missed five consecutive matches since suffering a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum, and will now use the time off to rehabilitate.
He started 59 games for the Kings this season and averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists. The Kings are 11-4 in games when Huerter scores more than 15 points, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Huerter played a big role in ending the Kings' playoff drought last season, averaging career highs in points (15.2), field goal percentage (48.5) and three-point shooting percentage (40.2).
Huerter landed with the Kings in a 2022 trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
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